It was as if Jayson Castro had never left.
The Gilas Pilipinas vanguard provided his side much-needed stability versus Iran in their 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers’ fifth window clash, pouring in 19 points – 15 in the second half – along with five rebounds.
Monday night was Castro’s first game back for the Philippines after he served his three-game suspension from that infamous brawl with the Australia Boomers back in the third window, last July at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
But even with his efforts, Castro and Gilas failed to get the job done.
The Philippine flag-bearers melted down in the fourth quarter after leading by as much as eight points early in the period, as Mohammad Jamshidi and Behnam Yakhchali joined hands to steer the Iranians to a 78-70 victory.
A rude welcome for Asia’s two-time best point guard.
“Maganda [nga yung performance ko] kaso talo. Sana maging okay na lang and then nanalo, ‘di ba. Mas gusto ko pa yun,” said Castro – who shot 57.1 percent from the field – moments after the loss at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“Wala ganun talaga. Lahat naman ginawa namin. Binigay namin yung best namin. Unfortunately natalo.”
Castro actually hurt his right ankle in the second quarter, and even suffered a cut in the forehead at the 8:13-mark of the fourth quarter after a hard foul by Rouzbeh Arghavan. But the 32-year-old doesn’t want to make any excuses.
“Part ng game yun. Ganun talaga,” he said.
“Kailangan ilaro pa rin tsaka yun nga, alam naman natin kung gaano ka-importante yung laro.”
The loss to Iran marks Gilas’ second straight on home soil – their first loss was last Saturday at the hands of Kazakhstan. Moreover, the loss brings the Philippines down to 5-5 and to the fourth place in Group F.
This window has been a nightmare for Gilas, especially when it has arguably the best collection of talent the program has ever seen. But even if the Philippines is in a precarious spot, Castro remains upbeat for the next window.
But he does hope they have much better preparation for the next phase, which is in February next year.
“Confident naman ako na sa last window, alam kong kaya natin manalo. Kailangan lang natin yung mga mistakes natin ma-correct natin, and kailangan natin ng magandang preparation. Mas mahaba,” said the TNT KaTropa star.
“Kasi new system, kailangan mahabang preparation para ma-organize.”
